Osaka Castle
Our first stop today was the Osaka Castle. This is a famous location for cherry blossom viewing in Japan, but in the photo, you’ll notice the branches are bare. Although we knew we were about two weeks too early for Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season, we’d been told off a warm front in Japan, which might mean the early arrival of blossoms. Naturally, our mission for the week would be to seek out actual blooming trees. 
The castle’s 8-story Main Tower is a museum today, providing numerous artifacts, drawings and facts about the history of Western Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate. The tower is absolutely worth visiting for its grand views of Osaka.APTEC Group
Before I forget, our hosts are a group of government officials from an organization known as APTEC (Asia Pacific Tourism Exchange Committee), which is a consortium of representatives of local cities that don’t necessarily have the same international recognition as do the big-name cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. The group invited several journalists for the purpose of visiting some of Japan’s oldest and most famous wooden structures, many of which have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Hiroshima
After our morning in Osaka, we were (hurriedly) escorted to the Shinkansen bullet train for our ride to Hiroshima Station. Our departure time was 11:29 and I believe we hit the station at 11:22. Yikes seven minutes to get upstairs, while hauling our luggage. My tension level was escalating, but the Japanese are masters at getting people where they need to be, on time. I shouldn’t have worried, the seven minutes was plenty. (Of course there was no time for shopping. And the train stations in Japan have such lovely shopping arcades. Good for my budget, though.)
Upon arrival in Hiroshima, we were met by a bus that would carry us directly to the Miyajima Ferry terminal. The bus took us right by Hiroshima Peace Park, the site where the infamous A-bomb was dropped during World War II, but since Hiroshima wasn’t a part of our official itinerary, a stop wasn’t scheduled for us. So imagine if you will, five journalists fighting for window space, and hanging out the bus trying to snap quick photos before the light turned green.
Miyajima Island
Although Miyajima isn’t necessarily one of Japan’s top-tier destinations (or at least not for international visitors), visually it is extremely famous for the red Tori Gate that rises out of its coastal waters. This gate is often referred to as “the symbol of Japan.”Our ferry ride to Miyajima Island gave us a great early view of this famous icon, and I was most surprised to learn that the base of the gate is not in fact completely submerged. The tidal levels in Miyajima can change up to ten feet, meaning that half the time, visitors can actually walk to the base of the gate.
It was a little daunting, upon our arrival in Miyajima, to learn that we would be followed by local media (from Hiroshima) for the day. So we were photographed, filmed and interviewed about our impressions of the island. Our first stop was a local Momiji Manju bakery. These are a type of waffle cake stuffed with red bean paste. Somewhere in Japan there is footage of me (looking like a prison matron as my group affectionately called me) baking Manju. After the bakery we wandered (if the term “hurry up, we’re behind schedule” can possibly be synonymous with wandering) over to the island’s famous Itukushima Shrine. Along the way we were accosted by the wild deer that populate the island. They tried to eat everything in our hands, and apparently are quite partial to paper products.
We also were fortunate enough to witness a Shinto wedding procession and here you see an image of the happy bride and groom.Itukushima Shrine
We were fortunate enough to be given a comprehensive tour of the Shrine by its head priest. He gave us a fascinating overview of much of the ecological problems facing Miyajima and Japan in general. The fact that the Shrine exists, in spite of hurricanes and floods, is a huge testament to the facility’s original architects, as well as the commitment of the locals who always come out to help in times of trouble.
In this picture you can (sort of) see how the floorboards are not tightly interconnected with spaces left deliberately between each board. The construction is intentional, in order to allow flooding waters to flow over and around the floorboards. This might not be great for the wood, but better than the alternative, which would be to have the whole floor sweep away with the pressure of the rising water.Truthfully, we learned pages and pages of historical, geological and ecological information. I almost feel like I could write a Masters Thesis just on this shrine alone. However, there isn’t enough space on this blog to include everything, so suffice it to say that Miyajima and the Itukushima Shrine are definitely a must-see addition on any itinerary that includes Hiroshima or even southwester Japan.
The remainder of the afternoon we wandered around the island enjoying, the Daigangji (100 Tatami Mat) Temple, the Tahoto (Treasure) Tower and the Daisoin Temple. We were even allowed 45 WHOLE minutes for shopping. Heaven. Of course with camera crews following us around, the shop owners all wanted to know if we were famous, and we spent much of our time using broken English and hand gestures to explain just how famous we were not.
Kinsuikan Ryokan
We would spend the night at one of the local Ryokan (Japanese Style Inn), the Kinsuikan Ryokan. We enjoyed traditional accommodations, sleeping on a rolled out Tatami mattress. The floors in the rooms were super polished (clean enough to literally eat off of), and needless to say, shoes are strictly forbidden inside. Kinsuikan was also the site our evening feast, and oh yum, what a feast it was. Sushi, shabu shabu in soy milk, grilled meats and tempura, finished off with cherry blossom wine and more beer than the human mind can imagine. We did learn, from the Miyajima City government officials, that Miyajima does produce the best Sake in all of Japan.
After dinner, when the tide had risen to its highest level, we were treated to a night cruise around the Tori gate. Upon our return I was feeling quite mellow, but did sneak upstairs to enjoy the (indoor) hot springs bath, which had a fabulous view overlooking the shrine.
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